The Things You Know That We Shouldn't Do
by AtLoLevad
Summary: Jamie invites Eddie to have Christmas dinner with the Reagans. How will this change their relationship?


"How did we pull the Christmas Eve shift?" Eddie asked as Jamie handed over the peppermint mocha he had gotten her from Starbucks. "Thank you, by the way," she lifted the red cup in a mock salute.

"You're welcome," Jamie said, smiling around the top of his own cup. "And we pulled the Christmas Eve shift so we wouldn't have to take the Christmas Day shift."

Eddie shrugged, "Okay, that makes sense. I guess. I'm still not happy about it."

"No one said you had to be happy, Eddie," Jamie laughed, "You just had to show up."

"And here I am!" Eddie gestured vaguely with one hand, "I win this shift!"

Jamie snorted and then yawned. Early shifts were never fun and since Jamie had spent the night before helping Frank and Henry prep for Christmas dinner, he was more tired than usual.

"Late night, Reagan?" Eddie sighed, slumping a little in her seat. She brushed her bangs out of her eyes and sipped at her coffee.

"Yeah," Jamie replied, "I was up late helping my dad and Pop prep for tomorrow."

Eddie's eyes sparkled with mirth, "Ooh, the Reagan Christmas dinner. The family dinner to end all family dinners."

Jamie rolled his eyes, "Quit it, Eddie. It's just family dinner."

"To you maybe," Eddie shrugged, "But to the rest of us cops, it's the pinnacle of Reagan family events. There's a whole mysticism around it."

The tips of Jamie's ears went red. He hated the fact that his family was the topic of so much discussion in the force.

"It's nothing special," he frowned, "We all get a little too tipsy and eat too much. Like any other family."

"I'm just teasing you, Jamie," Eddie smiled, "I know you guys are normal."

Jamie nodded in thanks and Eddie didn't tease him about his family for the rest of the morning.

* * *

"So, I never asked," Jamie said later, "What are you doing tomorrow?"

Eddie frowned at her salad and poked at the lettuce.

"I might be heading to Jersey," she said finally.

"Jersey?" Jamie exclaimed, as if she had committed a personal affront, "What's in Jersey? New York has everything you could possibly need at Christmastime. There's nothing in - "

He cut himself off.

Her dad.

Eddie wrinkled her nose, "Figured it out, huh? Yeah, I was thinking, maybe, that I'd head to Fort Dix and visit with my dad for an hour or so."

Jamie didn't think, he just blurted, "Take my car."

"Huh?" Eddie did a double take.

He couldn't take it back now.

"Take my car," Jamie said, with forced nonchalance. "It's a faster ride than taking public transpo."

"Jamie..." Eddie dragged his name out a little. She was flustered and a little pleased that Jamie cared.

"No really," Jamie said, dragging a few French fries through a puddle of ketchup, "Take my car. Call it an early Christmas present."

Her cheeks slightly pink, Eddie nodded, "Okay. Thank you, Jamie. I...that's sweet of you."

"We're partners," Jamie shrugged, "I've got your back."

Eddie swiped a fry and grinned, "You're a good egg, Jamie Reagan."

He winked and went back to his burger. The partners are in companionable silence for a few minutes.

Then, "Hey! Wait a minute, how am I supposed to give you back your car?"

Jamie thought for a minute and a shy smile spread across his face when he came up with an idea.

"Bring it by my dad's house after you're done. Stay for dinner," he said simply, even though his solution was anything _but_ simple.

Eddie's eyes popped open and her mouth worked like a fish's.

"Are you...come to...you're serious?" She tried to get a full sentence out, but couldn't really manage it.

"Yeah," Jamie said, sipping at his Coke, "Come to Christmas dinner. You got better plans?"

Eddie opened her mouth to protest, "Well...no. I don't. But still. I can't. It's your family!"

"There's no reason you can't," Jamie said, "I'm inviting you and that's that."

"Has anyone outside the Reagan family been to a family dinner?" Eddie asked, leaning back a little in her chair.

"Well...no," Jamie admitted, "But that doesn't mean we can't start!"

Eddie reached out to rest her hand on Jamie's hand. She ignored the sparks of heat that ran up her arm. "Jamie, I really, really appreciate the offer, but I...can't come. It's not that I don't want to, because I kind of do. It's just...what would that do to our relationship?"

"Nothing," Jamie said immediately, "it would change nothing."

But even before he finished talking, he knew that was a giant, fucking lie. If Eddie came to Christmas dinner, well, that would be a huge shift. None of Danny's partners had ever come to even a regular Sunday dinner.

Eddie's gaze shifted from Jamie's face to the tabletop, "That's what I thought. Jamie, you know how I feel. I won't keep getting my hopes up. Every time..."

She cut herself off and shook her head, "Never mind. Doesn't matter."

She pulled her hand away from Jamie's and he knew the conversation was over.

"Eddie," he sighed, "Invitation still stands. We're eating around 6. I really would... It would be nice if you came."

She smiled tightly at him, "Thanks, Reagan. I'll think about it."

* * *

The next afternoon Eddie found herself taking the exit for Bay Ridge.

"What the hell are you doing, Janko?" She said to herself as she drove.

As she got closer to the Reagan home base, Eddie tried to convince herself that she was only going to stop to give Jamie his car back. Ten minutes and then she was heading back to the city on the train.

That was it.

Eddie groaned out loud.

Who the hell was she kidding?

She'd put on make-up for god's sake. She wasn't planning on a quick car dump.

"You'd better not have been shitting me, Jamie Reagan," she scowled, turning onto the right block.

Within seconds she was pulling up to the Reagan's house. There were two cars already out front. Danny and Erin, she assumed.

Eddie gnawed at her lip as she parked. A sudden though occurred to her. Maybe she should have texted Jamie to tell him she actually _was_ coming.

Too late now.

She picked up the (expensive) bottle of wine and the chocolate cake she had bought on the way with sweaty hands.

"Here goes nothing," she muttered before pressing the doorbell with her elbow.

The door opened a few seconds later, revealing a grinning Jamie.

"Eddie! You came!" He looked a little surprised, but the smile never left his face.

"Surprise?" Eddie smiled weakly.

"Who is it, Jamie?" And older voice called from inside the house. Since Eddie didn't recognize it, she assumed that was Henry, Jamie's grandfather.

Jamie grinned at her before turning and shouting back, "My partner, Eddie! Remember I told you she might come?"

Eddie raised an eyebrow, "You talk about me, Reagan?"

Teasing him made this all feel a little more normal.

She watched as Jamie blushed a bit. "Maybe," he shrugged, "Come on in."

He took the cake box from her and gestured for Eddie to follow. She carefully stepped inside.

Eddie resisted the super strong urge to snoop around, but she did catch sight of the multitude of framed photos around.

She smiled at the sheer amount of family photos. It was nice to see all the smiling faces. They all looked genuinely happy.

"That one was taken two seconds before Jack pushed Sean down the hill," Jamie supplied, catching her looking at a picture of the family decked out in snow gear.

Eddie giggled, "Brothers, huh?"

"Oh yeah," Jamie rolled his eyes, "The stuff Danny and Joe did to me as a kid? Mom and Dad are lucky CPS never got involved."

"Don't let him lie to you," Danny said, appearing in the hallway with two bottles of beer, "Jamie have as good as he got."

Eddie smiled. The thought of a little Jamie teasing and being teased by his brothers was a nice one.

"Good to see you, Eddie," Danny nodded in greeting. He held up one of the beers and tilted it at her, "Beer? We got wine too, and the stronger stuff, but you might want to save that for when Pops gets started on his stories."

"I heard that Daniel!" Henry called.

"Beer's fine," Eddie said, taking the proffered drink and sipping at it.

She followed Jamie into the kitchen, feeling a little like a kindergartener following their teacher. But Jamie was like a security blanket in this totally, completely unfamiliar situation.

"Hey, Eddie," Jamie nudged her forward with a hand on her lower back, "Meet Pops. Pops, this is Eddie, my partner."

Henry turned away from the sauce he was stirring and wiped his hands on a dishtowel. "Eddie," he stuck out his hand, "Nice to meet you!"

"You too, sir," Eddie shook to former police commissioner's hand, "Sorry to intrude on your dinner -"

Henry cut her off, "Call me Henry. And it's not an intrusion. Jamie invited you, and I've always been of the mind that more is merrier."

"Okay," Eddie smiled, already feeling at ease with Henry. "Is there anything I can do to help, then?"

Jamie laughed, "Don't bother. We've been trying to help Pops for _years_. He thinks we'll all ruin dinner."

"Do you blame him?" Erin walked into the kitchen at the tail end of Jamie's sentence, "Remember what Danny did to those hamburgers Labor Day of '99?"

"I was sick!" Danny defended himself from the living room, "You shouldn't have let me grill!"

Erin rolled her eyes, and smiled at Eddie, "Nice to see you again, Eddie."

"You too," Eddie replied. She had met Jamie's sister once, a few years back and was a little surprised that Erin remembered her.

"Anyway, leave the boys here," Erin said, "Come join us in the dining room. Linda, Nicki, and I are having some girl time."

Eddie, grateful for the warm welcome, shot Jamie a slightly panicked look. But he only smiled at her and made a 'go ahead' gesture with his hand.

* * *

Eddie followed behind Jamie into the dining room, both carrying platters and bowls of food.

"Uncle Jamie! Eddie!" Nicki squealed, pointing at the doorway, "Mistletoe!"

Eddie and Jamie reacted as if they were in a comedy. Both stopped dead in their tracks, directly under the inoffensive sprig, and snapped their gazes up simultaneously.

"Dad!" Jamie grumbled.

Frank Reagan laughed at the head of the table, "I didn't decorate, son."

He cut his gaze to Erin and Linda. Jamie's sister and sister-in-law both shrugged.

"It was in the box!" Linda defended herself and Erin.

"It was your grandmother's favorite trick," Henry supplied with a laugh. "Any time we had friends over, she'd hang it up to catch them unsuspecting."

Eddie was still standing, stunned, under the mistletoe. Unsuspecting was right.

"Come on, Uncle Jamie!" Jack grinned, "You have to kiss Eddie. It's the rules."

Jamie looked at Eddie, a question of permission in his eyes.

Despite being in front of his entire family, despite the fact that her boss - the Commissioner! Jamie's dad! - was sitting less than five feet away, Eddie nodded.

Platters and bowls still in hand, Jamie stepped forward and kissed Eddie quickly. Eddie's cheeks immediately went pink, the moment not helped by Danny's catcall.

Eddie smiled carefully at Jamie, knowing everything had just changed. She cleared her throat a little and hurried to her seat. They'd set an extra place for her in between Jamie and Nicki.

Nicki smiled at her and Eddie was worried that the girl would say something about the kiss.

But Nicki just said, "I just noticed your earrings, Eddie! They're really pretty. Where'd you get them?"

"Oh," Eddie smiled, cheeks still pink, "They're from this designer, Kendra Scott? I'll email Jamie the link so he can give it to you, if you want?"

Nicki nodded, "Thanks! I'd love that."

Jamie nudged her knee with his under the table. Eddie looked over at him.

"I knew you'd have a good time," he whispered, leaning his head closer to hers.

She smirked a little, "No one likes a know-it-all, Reagan."

But she knocked his knee with hers and let him squeeze her fingers.

* * *

After a round of goodbyes that lasted a lot longer than they should have, Jamie walked Eddie out to the car.

"I can call an Uber," Eddie said. "You don't have to drive me to the station."

"I want to," Jamie said, guiding her to his car with his hand on her lower back. "I would've drive. You back to the city myself, but we have our tradition."

Eddie giggled, feeling light and happy from the wine and warm company, "Those Reagan family traditions. Very important."

"Hey," Jamie shook his head, "If you're gonna tease me, I'm not gonna give you this."

He procured a small, wrapped gift from his jacket pocket. The red bow on top was as big as the box was.

"Ooh," Eddie's eyes went wide. "Jamie!"

He gently put the box in her hands.

"I don't have a gift for you," she pouted, feeling bad about her lack of foresight.

Jamie shrugged, "Doesn't matter. I saw this and thought of you. It's something small."

He scratched at the back of his neck and Eddie felt a rush of affection.

She carefully pulled off the ribbon and paper, noting with a small smile that the corners were messily folder.

"Oh, Jamie!" She breathed, "You shouldn't have."

She lifted the bracelet from the box. It was a brown leather cord with a tiny gold bullhead hanging from it.

Eddie ran her fingers over the detailed charm. "It's so pretty."

"Reminded me of you," Jamie said, "Because you don't take anyone's bullshit."

Eddie let out a laugh, "That is very true."

"Plus, the saleswoman told me that the necklaces and bracelets made by this company all have meanings," Jamie shifted from one foot to the other. "This one symbolizes taking life by the horns and not letting anything get in the way of what you want."

Eddie looked down at the gold charm, glinting in the light from the street lamps.

She let the box fall to the ground and reached up with her free hand to cup Jamie's cheek. She leaned up on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his.

Jamie resisted for a minute, but then his hands came around her back, pulling her close.

They broke apart for air a few seconds later, both breathless. Jamie rested his forehead against Eddie's.

"What was that?" he muttered.

Eddie smiled, "Me not letting anything get in the way of what I want."

"We shouldn't really do this," Jamie said reluctantly.

With one hand playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, Eddie shrugged, "I've never been really good with rules, Reagan."

The smile on her face faltered, "But this is the last time I'm not...if you say no, then it's no and we're just partners."

In response, Jamie leaned in for another kiss.

"Merry Christmas, Eddie," he said when they broke apart again.

"Are we gonna do this?" Eddie tried to clarify. "You did just say we shouldn't do this."

"Sometimes," Jamie leaned down to kiss her again, twisting his hands in her hair, "the things you shouldn't do are the things you want to do."

Eddie beamed.

Best. Christmas. Ever.

* * *

 _A/N: AH This might be the fastest I've ever written something. It just came to me really fast and I loved writing it. The way I see it, this is sort of canon compliant, this could be this year's Christmas for them._

 _Big thanks to that-hamster-wheel for encouraging me to write this one :)_

 _I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one :)_

 _Also! If you want to see the outfit I pictured Eddie in, check out my Polyvore - pstdk._

 _Happy almost Christmas guys!_


End file.
